This past Tuesday was a national holiday in Brazil, celebrating the life of the revolutionary Tiradentes. And since we were able to take Tuesday (and Monday) off, Mike and I decided to look for locations to visit in northeastern Brazil. Sure, Brazil has its beautiful beaches, but as I've noted before, my midwestern upbringing did little to prepare to spend days at the edge of massive amounts of water. Rather we were advised to look a place called Chapada Diamantina National Park.

The area is named Chapada Diamantina because of the fantastic hills with diamonds. A diamond rush brought prospectors to the area in the 1840s. Many years after the boom went bust, people realized the beauty of the land they were scavanging for its material wealth. After several battles with the Brazilian government, ecologists eventually had the land set away as a national park.

The beauty of Chapada Diamantina is deep and diverse. It is home to some of the largest caves in South America and the largest waterfall in Brazil. The rivers wind through spectacular rock formations, and the area is ideally suited for outdoor enthusiasts of any type.

Mike and I decided that we were outdoor enthusiasts of a certain type, so last Thursday we headed to the park in central Bahia state. Twenty-four hours of bus riding later, we finally arrived in Lençois, the city at the entrance to the park.

We spent four days in Lençois exploring different sites each day. The first day we attempted to find a guide that could take us to the places we wanted to go. Even before we got to a guide agency office, people on the street were offering to take us to this waterfall, or that one. We eventually found a guide agency that we thought looked promising for the next day and booked that trip. We also decided we'd do one of the few hikes that we could do near Lençois without a guide. The guidebook didn't speak particularly highly of these options, but we thought we could at least kill some time.

We headed up Lençois River and were soon impressed. The river was cutting its way over sharp rocks, creating small waterfalls everywhere you looked. We then found a path going up away from the river and eventually found Cachoeirinha (Small Waterfall) where several people were swimming. We kept following the path, never quite knowing where we were going, or if we were getting there. The views from the trail were magnificent, overlooking the valley created by the river. Finally we got to Cachoeira da Primavera (Spring Waterfall), which was our original destination. It was probably 5 meters tall, and provided a magnificent stopping point for us. The first day was spectacular as we were able to explore on our own.

Waterfall in Lençois River. The water is dark not because it is dirty, but because it has been filtered through the earth and has a high quantity of organic matter (or so I'm told).

Cachoeira da Primavera.

The second day we went with our guide Daniel and three other previously-unknown people to three locations: Gruta da Lapa Doce, Morro do Pai Inácio, and Poço do Diabo. Gruta da Lapa Doce is one of the the largest caves in Brazil, with more than 20 miles of passage undergound. Inside there were several magnificent stalagtites and stalagmites formed over thousands of years. The cave itself was an old river, and the space to walk in was quite spacious. But the most impressive thing occured when our guide and others turned off their laterns, and we were told to be completely still. At first the silence is deafening. Nothing, absolutely nothing made a sound. And even though I felt like my eyes were perceiving light, I was unable to see my hand even five inches in front of my face.

After leaving the cave, we headed toward the top of Morro do Pai Inácio. We drove most of the way up, and then hiked the last thirty minutes. This morro (or hill) was just one of many spectacular formations in the large valley surrounding Pai Inácio. It was cloudy and cool, and recent rain filled small pools between the rocks on the top of the hill. The weather, along with the barren landscape, gave a type of end-of-the-world feel to being on top of the hill. The view was magnificent from here.

We ate our peanut butter and jelly sandwiches on top of Morro do Pai Inácio, then headed for Poço do Diabo. The hike to this waterfall was only about 30 minutes as well, but we had to wade through ankle-deep water to get there. The main attraction at the Poço was a zipline that took you from the top of the waterfall into the water 30 m below. I was a little nervous about doing it, but after seeing a couple people do it, I joined in. Falling 30 m into water, being supported by only a rope and straps will definitely get your adrenaline going.

Mike and I prepare to go spelunking.

Mike on the top of Morro do Pai Inácio.

Poço do Diabo. Notice the man going down on the zipline.

Our third day we went with Lucio, who was the son of the owners of our hotel, to try to reach another waterfall within hiking distance of Lençois. Lucio led us and several of his friends from college in the Bahian state capital of Salvador on the trail towards Cachoeira do Sossego. He was going at a pretty good pace, and we were getting tired quickly. But around lunch time we noticed some people coming back on the path. Their guide said that they were unable to reach the waterfall since the path crossed the river, and recent rains had swelled the river. We pressed on for a bit, but as it began to rain, we realized that it was unwise to continue. We waited out the rain under a small shelter and ate lunch. We then returned to a small swimming hole and relaxed there for a while. Eventually we hiked to a large series of rock waterfalls that culminated in a large pool at the bottom. If you wanted to, you could use the rocks as a waterslide and slide down the waterfall into the pool. By this time I was sufficiently tired, so I was content to watch people enjoy the waterslide. And even though we didn't reach our intended destination, it was another nice day of hiking, and well worth it.

A view of the area as we attempted to hike to Cachoeira do Sossego.

Our final day we returned to our guide Daniel to take us to Cachoeira da Fumaça, the largest waterfall in Brazil. This day was to be our most tiring on paper, with a required elevation change of 1000 ft, and more than 9 miles of hiking. But fortunately we took the trail slow. It also was foggy and rainy during our ascent, which limited our ability to see. At one point we were required to remove our boots and walk through nearly 2 feet of water. And while the hiking was not too difficult as we reached the waterfall, it wasn't exactly exciting either. But as the clouds cleared, we came to the waterfall. We first saw it from above. There was a small ledge that protruded over the canyon and allowed for a view if your stuck your head over the edge. At first I readily peered over the edge to see this volume of water pouring over the rock. But as I retreated from the ledge, I realized that I had just been over 400 m above the canyon floor. I soon got a sense of vertigo even watching other people look over the edge. Fortunately, our guide took us to another vista that allowed a less precarious view of the waterfall.

A view of the waterfall from the ledge. It is called Cachoeira da Fumaça (Smoke Waterfall) because the water reaches the bottom in small drops, instead of a steady stream.

A view of Cachoeira da Fumaça from the side.

The spectacular scenery was just a part of the journey. We stayed at a great little place called Casa da Geleia since its owner specialized in making jellies and jams. Thus, our wonderful breakfasts always included a variety of jellies not common in the U.S. Pitanga jam, anyone?

It was also wonderful to get to know some of the other travelers. There were the two German girls who are working in Salvador at an orphanage. There was the Brazilian studying psychology. There were Lucio and his friends from Salvador. And then our final day in Lençois, we ran into the Americans. A father and son from California and Colorado provided conversation for us on our hike up to Cachoeira da Fumaça. We chatted with a vacationing couple from Colorado in the restaurant that night. And then on the bus we met two girls from University of Oregon doing a study abroad in Salvador.

Chapada Diamantina was one the best places I've been in Brazil. I got to relax, while not getting bored, and experienced some wonderful scenery. I would return there in a heartbeat.